Valve has been ramping up its hype for Dota Underlords’ Big Update with daily news updates since October 17. As of today, Valve has launched the Big Update with many updates coming into the popular auto-battler. There are lots of new heroes to select, new unit types, brawler buffs and a new Underlords feature to get excited about. There is a lot of content to absorb in this patch, and we’ll help guide you through the gist of it.
Dota Underlords received a "Big Update" today, fleshing the game out more fully. (Image via Valve)
The Underlords
Valve has officially released the core of what Dota Underlords is all about: the Underlords. At the start of every match, the player gets to choose an Underlord to aid them throughout the game. Each Underlord has a passive, two primary abilities and a choice between two different ultimate abilities.
Hobgen is one of the first Underlords in Dota Underlords. (Image via Valve.)
Firstly, we have Hobgen, a ranged pyromancer. Hobgen is all about setting opponents on fire, gaining power and activating abilities. Of the two Underlords, Hobgen is the more offensive, with attack speed buffs, a damage-over-time attack and an area-of-effect blast.
Image via Valve.
The other Underlord available is Anessix, a demon character that is more support focused. Anessix works well with other demon characters on the board, can sacrifice her own health to heal others, whilst her ultimates offer other supporting factors to turn the tide of battle.
Freestyle Mode
Freestyle mode is the practice mode of the game. Players can quickly set up and test different scenarios, comps, and other synergies found within the game. This is no doubt a welcome addition to the game for all skill levels.
Duo Queue Mode
A new duo mode has been added to the game. This is a casual mode where you can party with a friend to take on 7 other teams in a 16-player lobby. Each player will buy their own units, level them up and build synergies. However, teams can share their spare gold or spare units to each other to aid in a team victory. As for the combat, your health pool and level are shared. Battles are fought in pairs against other teams. One team will come out on top in this brand-new casual mode. A separate ranked duo queue will launch soon.
New Heroes and Alliances
Twelve new Heroes have been added to the game, that brings in new Alliances and adds more units to other Alliance types. The new Heroes are:
“Nyx Nyx Nyx Nyx.” (Image via Valve)
Nyx Assassin: Insect, Assassin
Shadow Demon: Heartless, Demon
Dazzle: Troll, Healer
Magnus: Shaman, Brute
Weaver: Shaman, Brute
Io: Primordial, Druid
Legion Commander: Human, Champion
Lifestealer: Heartless, Brute
Bristleback: Insect, Warlock
Faceless Void: Primordial, Assassin
Sven: Human, Scaled, Knight
As you can see, there are four new alliance types in the game:
Insects create spiderlings, that have a chance to make opponents miss their attacks – requires 3 Insects.
Champions receive all alliance bonuses – requires 1 champion.
Brutes apply damage debuffs, apply burst damage, and attack enemies not already debuffed- requires 2/4 Brutes.
Healers amplify friendly healing spells by 30% – requires 3 healers.
In addition, several heroes already in the game have received changes in some form. For example, Anti-Mage is now an Elusive Assassin, rather than an Elusive Demon Hunter. A full list of hero changes, including details on new heroes’ abilities can be found here, towards the bottom of the link.
Jailing System
Image via Valve.
With 12 new heroes added to the game, players may think it’s impossible to get a tier 3 unit. Valve already thought of this, and their solution is a jailing system. Each day, 12 heroes will be put in jail, removing them from play. This will not impact alliances, as there will be enough units each alliance type to get synergies going. A nice side effect of this is it keeps each game fresh, with new strategies forming daily.
Other Changes
There have been changes to the XP curve in the game. It now costs 5 gold to buy 5 XP, with the XP curve changed to reflect the new values. In addition, there have been changes to neutral rounds, bosses, and items in the game.
